Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

212 Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States
technology in their research, teaching, and scholarship. One example is a
proposal from the Woodson to the Faculty Senate to create an online guide
to African American and African Studies teaching resources at the University
of Virginia. Many of the research projects previously described also
have important electronic and Web-based aspects to them.
Recommendations
The Institute has had difficulties making and holding appointments in
fields such as Economics and Psychology. The Foundation might address
this difficulty through a consortium of the Foundation, disciplinary associations,
and the National Research Council. Since this consultant (Pinderhughes)
has encountered similar difficulties in her own home institution,
and it seems that this is a national problem, different strategies will need to
be used to place and maintain faculty.
University of Wisconsin
The Project
The Ford-funded project administered by the University of Wisconsin is
the Midwest Consortium for Black Studies. 36 It brings together four
schools: Carnegie Mellon University, Michigan State University, the University
of Michigan, and Wisconsin. The project’s goals were to“consolidate
the institutional presence of Black Studies” at the participating universities;
encourage networking among the Consortium schools and historically
Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); provide for the dissemination of
research findings in the field; and to supply younger faculty and graduate
students with research support. With the possible exception of outreach to
the HBCUs, the itemized goals appear to have largely been achieved.
This Ford project convened year-long seminars at the University of
Wisconsin and Carnegie Mellon University, followed by a major interdisciplinary
conference at the University of Michigan. Although scholars from